To the Commandant of Norbury:

Sir, I must report to you a dire happening, and beg of you most urgently
to send more men to bolster our garrison. This very day we lost no fewer
than three of our complement at a single stroke. Our noble commander, the
Lord Arabor, sacrificed himself so that he might prevent further losses.
The tale is most strange in the telling, but I think I should relate it
in detail, such that you will understand the depth of our current peril.

These past twenty days we have been hearing strange rumblings beneath the
walls of the fortress. Deep in the cellars below us the ground at times
was shaking as if to try to tip the building from its very foundation.
Night and day the earth groaned beneath our feet and the younger men
became fearful of some work of sorcery. Long have we watched the lands
to our east, where it is rumoured an evil necromancer makes his home.
Yet to me this did not seem to be his work. And verily I was proven right.

In the long hours before dawn this day a great crashing was heard in the 
farthest corner of the tunnels. I hurried down there myself, for I was 
commander of the watch, and what I found made my blood run cold.
As I crossed the store rooms and made shift to enter the tunnels my way
was almost blocked by a veritable stream of rats and mice, all fleeing
from I knew not what. I proceeded with all haste along the tunnel, and as
I neared its far end I saw that a massive hole had been rent in the floor.
Through this rupture a great, scaly head was peering, and it was from this
beast's gaping maw that the rats were fleeing. The creature appeared quite
crazed with hunger, and as I watched it, it snapped and lunged at the
scurrying rodents, pushing its bulk against the opening, so that the hole
began to grow, massive boulders tumbling free under the force of the
gargantuan shoulders.

As soon as my initial shock had passed, I hurried to raise the garrison
and we formed up to face the foul beast. We readied ourselves with all
haste, but by the time we returned to the cellars, the beast had made its
way into the escape passage. The narrow confines of the tunnels made the
combat an uneven one. Were we able to attack in numbers, the brute would
surely have fallen fast to our well-honed blades. But as it was, only one
man was able to meet the creature in open combat. Whenever a second came
to the forefront the cramped conditions meant that swords could no longer
be swung so freely. And so we fought in turn, another stepping forward as
each man began to tire.

And so it was that young Algund came to face the creature. He was
acquitting himself most bravely, but it lunged unexpectedly and dealt him
a grave injury, tearing one of his arms asunder. Our old sergeant, Ondoher,
hurried to the fore, and dragged him free of the brute's reach, fending it
off with his sword even as he did so. But Algund was dead already.

Then it was that Arabor strode bravely forward, decked out in his finest
armour, his father's prized girdle about his waist. He fought like a man
possessed, and the creature retreated some distance, dropping back through
the hole it had rent in the floor of the passage. We pursued it, thinking
now to drive it back to its lair. And so Arabor fought on and on, driving
the beast deeper into the crude tunnels it had dug, until we came to a
place where we saw enough loose rocks and boulders that we felt we might
collapse the passageway and trap the beast.

The battle had been raging long by now, and Arabor was clearly growing
weary, yet he fought on, unwilling to let another risk his life in test
against the vile creature. It was a decision nobly, but unwisely made, for
his limbs seemed to be turning to lead, and as we hurried to try to weaken
the tunnel walls and roof, our commander stumbled. The brute wasted not a
moment, his wicked jaws cutting Arabor in two before our eyes. We were
unable even to retrieve his remains, upon which the creature was now
greedily feasting.

Ondoher exhorted the men to greater effort, urging all speed, in the hope
that we could complete our task whilst the foul brute fed upon our fallen
comrade. And just when it seemed that our time had run out, a great
rumbling announced our success, and huge piles of rocks and boulders fell
all about us, creating panic and confusion. Two were caught beneath the
onslaught of falling stone. One we were able to pull free, with relatively
minor injury, but Ondoher was buried so completely that we had no hope of
digging him out. We can only offer up hopes that he died quickly.

After we had rested for a time, I brought the men once more to action, and
we increased the thickness of the wall of rubble, for even then we could
hear the beast raging beyond the rough barricade, as if trying once more
to reach us. We then retired to tend to our wounded.

Several hours have passed since that time, and the noise from the cellars
and tunnels has finally subsided. We hope that the creature has turned his
attentions elsewhere, but it is now a matter of the most extreme urgency
that you send reinforcements, lest the evil forces to the east learn of
the weakening of our garrison here, and our mission be brought to ruin.
I have taken up command of the fortress, being now the most senior man
present, and I am sending this message by the fastest rider. Sir, please
do not delay in coming to our aid.

Your humble servant,
      Borgond, Acting Commander of Minas Rhun.